Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Listen: Friend Roulette - "I Guess"

With their debut album done and out in the world earlier this year, Brooklyn experimental chamber pop outfit Friend Roulette don't seem to be wasting any time getting their new songs out in the world. Hot on the heels of I'm Sorry You Hit Your Head came tender ballad "Rocket Dog" ahead of a brand new Grow Younger EP out early next year.

"I Guess", the second peek at the forthcoming EP, is probably the most straightforward lyrically than we've gotten from Friend Roulette in a bit. No space explorations, magical transformations, or even drunken sailing trips. Despite it's militant drums and it's subtle psychedelic haze, "I Guess" is for the most part firmly grounded in reality. About real expectations and wants as Julia Tepper's vocals craft Rapunzel-esque visions of pining loneliness - if Rapunzel was a young twenty-something having a particularly rough night in Brooklyn.

"How long can I last here lonely every day?/How long will I last here wasted in the rain?" Tepper sings and it's a moment that invokes sincere sympathy. We've all probably been there. Waiting by the phone or outside of a house/apartment waiting to be let in for what seems like forever with no idea if there's anyone on the other side. It's a very realistic bit of drama gussied up with Friend Roulette's trademark layering with the EWI doing a considerable amount of heavy lifting to establish the track's dreamy atmosphere and the rest of the band's at times aggressive textural interplay serving as a counterpoint to Tepper's delicate vocals.



Friend Roulette's Grow Younger EP will be out February 6th.

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